


Something From Nothing

by Welcome_to_yesterday



Series: Lost Generation [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Blackmail, Blood and Injury, Drugs, Fake AH Crew, Gangs, Gen, Minor Injuries, Mystery, References to Drugs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-02-22 05:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13160079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Welcome_to_yesterday/pseuds/Welcome_to_yesterday
Summary: The years hadn't been kind to the group. What was once a bunch of friends, playing games of gangs and heists, became a load of enemies hating each other as if they were all in actual gangs and it was a full on terf war.Ryan still can't exactly remember how each piece fell apart but, when something drastic happens, he must make something from nothing.- Series title from Something From Nothing by Foo Fighters -This is a sequel to my work Lost Generation but that doesn't have to be read to understand this fully as I'll probably be reincorporating details from that into this if need be.





	1. Chapter 1

The clock read 7:08am, its red neon lights warning Ryan of his long day ahead. It was finally the first day back at school and Ryan was very much ready to start and finish his final year. Dragging himself from under his sheets, he revelled in the silence of his household and made his way to the bathroom. He flicked the light on and didn’t dare look in the mirror yet, reaching for the shower and turning it on. 

Whilst waiting for the water to warmup, he returned to his room and grabbed his phone. He positioned himself against the sink next to the shower, one hand stuck idly under the flow of water whilst the other scrolled through any social media he could. Suddenly, a recognisable name and face appeared on his feed.

“Gavin Free?” he questioned aloud, furrowing his brows. It had been quite some time since the two had even spoke, despite once being best friends. Ryan suddenly remembered when they were friends. And not just them, the whole group they had. Puberty had been rather unkind to the friends. Attitudes changed, people fell out with each other, and the group has soon gone its separate ways.

The changing of his screen brought Ryan back to reality and he swiped to answer the incoming phone call.  
“About time you answered, Haywood,” Geoff grumbled from the other end, Ryan rolling his eyes.  
“I wanted a lie in, okay? Look I’m just gonna hop in the shower now and I should be ready for the usual half past pick up,”  
“Let me guess, you want me to bring to breakfast too?”  
“If you wouldn’t mind, Geoff,” Ryan pleaded, the only downside to his parents being out of town. His aunt had invited his parents round for a week and they’d happily gone without him, leaving him money and food to look after himself however Ryan was no domestic goddess.

There was a sigh before Geoff agreed and the call was over, Ryan throwing the phone back into his room. He shed his clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water sooth him. And just as promised, Ryan was waiting by his front door as the slick red car rolled into his driveway. The car was definitely Geoff’s car, for the main reason that Ryan didn’t think any other 17-year-old in the city owned a damn roofless car from the 60s. He was surprised it still ran and looked so new.

“Greetings, princess,” Geoff smirked, looking at Ryan over his shades as the brunette clambered into his car. “One coffee with cream and sugar as well as a glazed donut.”  
“Thanks, Geoff,” Ryan mumbled, placing his backpack between his legs in the footwell and grabbing at the brown paper bag.  
“Yeah, you owe me $4.75,” he said bluntly and glared at Ryan until the boy sighed and fished in his pocket for some change.  
“Y’know it might be nice to just get it for me one morning instead of making me pay,” Ryan commented, handing the coins to his friend.  
“If you don’t want to pay, learn to cook,” Geoff replied with a smirk and they were soon speeding to the high school.

As the car pulled into a space in the school’s parking lot, Ryan took the chance to glance around at the hustle and bustle of the students. He wasn’t surprised to easily notice the separation between different groups, unable to believe how blind he’d been to it all when he first began at this school. He stepped out of the car and walked round to Geoff’s side, where the other had quickly exited the vehicle and pulled out his phone. 

The two stood side by side, watching the new students meekly avoiding any trouble and entering the building. However, some weren’t as lucky as most. One scrawny kid had easily been knocked over by one of the football players, rubbing his head from the impact of the ball. Laughter chorused from the group of Neanderthals and Geoff just shook his head.  
“Idiots,” he said, a bit too loudly for Ryan’s liking. The word had been caught by the leader of the ‘bro squad’ himself, Tyler Coe, and he immediately sauntered over with his lackey trailing just behind.  
“What the fuck did you say, Ramsey?” Tyler spat, Ryan practically being able to feel how the bully’s blood boiled at Geoff’s silence. “You aren’t gonna talk, huh? How about we take your little friend for a spin then?”

Before either of them could react, Ryan’s slender frame had been grabbed and thrown over Tyler’s shoulder, the coffee and backpack hitting the floor. And, as Tyler had hoped, he gained a reaction from Geoff.  
“Put him down, you fucking idiot!” he yelled, Tyler seemingly unfazed by Ryan kicking his chest and pounding his fists om his back.  
“Or what, Ramsey? You gonna fight Tyler for it? We all know exactly how that went down last time,” Tyler’s lackey had finally spoken up to rile Geoff, and the evil that came from the redhead was rather shocking to Ryan. He had no idea how the Michael he once knew had become such a bully, just assuming Tyler had taken advantage of his anger issues.   
After Geoff hadn’t replied, Tyler became bored and dropped Ryan to the floor without care.  
“Watch it next time, idiots. Or I’ll punch Haywood’s pretty face in,” Tyler hissed before he and Michael returned to pestering the younger students. 

Geoff grabbed Ryan’s bag with one hand and helped him up with the other, Ryan sighing as he brushed himself down.  
“He’s a monster,” Ryan muttered, taking his bag and kicking aside his now empty coffee cup.  
“Yeah, a monster on steroids,” Geoff huffed and the two shared a laugh before daring to approach the doors to the school building.   
“Good luck, Geoff. let’s hope we end up in at least one class together,” Ryan said as they wandered towards their lockers, Geoff nodding in agreement.  
“I’m praying as much as I can, Haywood.”


	2. Times Like These

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something weird is happening, and Ryan isn't sure what.  
> Too many questions, not a single answer.

It was times like these when Ryan was thankful for the few inches he had above other students. Sure, he wasn’t the tallest, but it seemed that, whereas his locker had been surrounded by older students last year, he was now swarmed by new kids all panicked about finding their classes and making new friends. 

He slammed his locker close, the clunk of the metal causing a student next to him to flinch, but Ryan just ignored them and merged into the moving crowd of teenagers. Glancing at the timetable he’d scribbled om to a sheet of paper, Ryan groaned at the prospect of having maths as his first class. And, to make matters worse, the class was on the opposite end of the school. With a face of determination, he began to push his way through the flood of students to his first class.

As he travelled across the school, the students thinned out until he was alone in the corridors, making some excuse as to why he would be late in his head. However, he stopped dead in his tracks as a slim figure stumbled out of one of the bathrooms. 

The sandy hair was dishevelled, eyes wide and darting around with urgency as hands rung together like he was some sort of evil henchman. Ryan furrowed his brows at the sight as a million questions ran through his head, wondering what on earth Gavin was doing. He was an honours student, one of the best in the science and maths department and yet he was currently looking like he’d shot himself up with anything and everything.

Ryan didn’t snap out of his state until hands balled into his t-shirt and his back hit the wall, the large nose being much too close for comfort.  
“Did you see him?” Gavin asked, looking back and forth before focusing on Ryan again. His voice was shaking, as if he was scared.   
“What?” Ryan was utterly confused, unable to know whether he was just being stupid or whether it was right to not know what the fuck was going on.

“Did you see him?!” Gavin hissed more forcibly this time, one of the hands moving to rest lazily on Ryan’s cheek.   
Ryan lifted his hands form his sides and grabbed at Gavin’s wrists, just shaking his head and removing the hands from him  
“No, I haven’t seen anyone. What are you on about?” he pressed, and Gavin just let out a shaky sigh of relief before laughing like a mad man. When Ryan’s face didn’t soften like Gavin’s, the brit became worried again.

“Don’t you know, Ryan? He’s after us. He’s after all of us. And he won’t stop until we’re all dead,” Gavin breathed out.  
Ryan’s eyes widened at his words, raising his hands in some sort of defence and wishing he could back up further than the wall would allow.  
“Who’s after us? Who’s after us, Gavin?” he whispered, and Gavin just shook his head furiously.  
“I’ve already said too much. I’m sorry.”

Before Ryan could press any further, his head was twisted and slammed into the wall. He dropped like a sack of bricks, hands fumbling to push himself up. As he blinked to focus his vision again, his chest heaving up and down with his laboured breathing, Ryan saw that he was alone in the corridor again. 

The cold trickle of blood down his cheek caused his fingers to raise to the wound and, as he looked around one last time, he saw his classroom a few doors down. Not even managing to take one step forward, the noise of whatever had happened to Ryan caused the door to swing open and the teacher to glare at him.  
“What on earth are you playing at, Haywood?” the teacher grumbled as Ryan approached and held out his bloodied hand, still quite dazed.  
“I…I dunno, sir,” he mumbled, “I really don’t know.”

The next small while went by like a blur, Ryan only remembering a mess of teachers asking him questions and ushering him to the nurse’s office where he now resided. His gaze was trained to the floor, wincing as the side of his head was poked, prodded, and examined.  
“Well, Ryan, it seems you’ve got a nasty cut right here. Must’ve hit the corner of the wall or something sharp on it,” the nurse noted, Ryan just shrugging his shoulders. It was not like he could say what really happened.

His head, although hurting, was still frenzying over Gavin’s words. Who is he? Who is us? And why does he was ‘us’ dead?

Before Ryan could question it further, and thankfully stopping the unwanted investigation of his cut, one of the school’s receptionists poked her head into the office with a bright smile.  
“Sorry to disturb you but I just need to let Ryan know that someone is on their way to pick him up and take him to the hospital,” she said, her voice sweet like candy and Ryan had to stop himself from physically cringing at how fake it was.  
“But my parents are out of town?” he muttered groggily and the giggle that followed made him want to gag.  
“We’ve been made aware, Ryan. But, luckily for you, your mom said that your uncle is perfectly capable of taking you,” and Ryan was thankful that she then immediately left. 

The nurse temporarily bandaged his wound and gave him some space for a few minutes, Ryan fiddling in his backpack as he heard the muffled sound of his ringtone. Geoff.  
“Yo, Georgia boy, what the hell happened? It’s already going around that you got into a fight or something. Some lower grade kid saw you bleeding from the head and spread rumours,” Geoff spoke with hidden anger in his voce, as if he was some sort of mafia boss that was ready to have his goons gun down this rumour spreading kid. And Ryan had to suppress a laugh because of it  
“I mean, you could say that if getting into a fight with a wall is possible,” he replied and could here mumbling on the other end. “Is someone with you, Geoff?”   
“What? Oh, yeah, just with that Cib guy. Anyways, watch out for walls and I’ll see you later. See ya, princess,” Geoff rambled quickly and then ended the call, Ryan angrily tossing his phone into his bag. 

The last thing he wanted to do was keep this weird experienced bottled up inside him. Perhaps some time would allow him to think it over though, and give him a breather from literally anything else. 

As Ryan left the school and walked to the busted jeep with his uncle, that mornings sun had hidden behind grey clouds and a shiver ran down his spine. Whatever was happening wasn’t natural and Ryan was determined to figure out what the hell was going on.


	3. Long Road To Ruin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Geoff find out what the hell is going on with the help of a Brit and a Bostonian

The ice pack was numbingly cold, held tightly to the side of Ryan’s head as his eyes focused lazily on the tv. He’d been dropped off at home after the hospital visit, his wound stitched up and left to heal. It wasn’t long after Ryan’s uncle left that Geoff had come bursting through the door as if it was his own home.   
About thirty minutes after Geoff’s entrance was where they were now, Ryan having to explain repeatedly until Geoff was finally believing what he said.

“So, you didn’t see who hit you?” Geoff questioned, sat comfortably in the rich chocolate coloured recliner that usually seated Ryan’s father.  
“Like I’ve said ten times now, no, I didn’t see who hit me. And it wasn’t even like a hit. More of a grab and slam into the wall,” Ryan explained, moving his leg out from underneath himself as he felt the tingle of pins and needles approaching. Geoff just gave an understanding nod.

 

“Well, you’re not going to leave this alone, are you?” he asked, and Ryan raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure what he meant which prompted Geoff to elaborate. “Obviously you have some part in this, whatever ‘this’ is. So, we have to figure out what the hell is happening. I mean, it’s much more entertaining than our usual weekends.”  
He had a point. And Ryan hated it.   
“Fine, but this stays between us. We tell not a single soul. Understand?” Ryan’s face was like steel, glaring sternly at Geoff like a parent scolding a young child. And, with a reluctant sigh, Geoff gave in.

“Okay, my lips are sealed. But now what?”  
“We go see Gavin,” Ryan said simply, pushing himself to his feet. He exited the living room and, from the kitchen doorway, threw the ice pack into the sink. Geoff was quick to scramble after the younger of the two and together they left the house to find where this all started.

\--

As the car pulled up outside the house, the streets were oddly quiet, and Ryan looked towards the house to notice only one light on. He gave a concerned look to Geoff before they stepped out of the car and approached the house. The gravel path crunched beneath their shoes and Ryan took a breath before knocking on the front door. 

Murmurs could be heard on the other end then the door slowly creaked open to reveal a more stable looking Gavin. Ryan went to open his mouth, ready to let question after question pour out, but he was stunned speechless when the Brit’s arms wrapped tightly around his chest and buried his face into Ryan.

“I thought you were a goner!” Gavin announced loudly, Geoff and Ryan both sharing faces of confusion and shock. But the sweetness from Gavin didn’t last for long as a hand was tugging him off Ryan and the owner of the hand was glaring furiously at him.

“Jesus Christ, Gavin. Give him some damn space. Or at least let them inside because I can easily guess why they’re here,” Jeremy ordered the brit and he sheepishly ducked aside to let Geoff ad Ryan enter, the two doing so hesitantly. 

Whilst Gavin lead them into the living room, Ryan noting that was where the light was coming from, Jeremy stepped into the kitchen and started on some drinks.  
“Coffee or tea?” he called out as Ryan and Geoff each took a place on one of the couches.  
“Coffee for both,” Ryan replied, not realising how his foot was tapping until Geoff’s hand on his knee stilled him. 

Gavin had taken a seat opposite them, rubbing at his own knees as the silence filled the air around them. A few minutes later, Jeremy entered the room and broke the silence as he handed the mugs to Ryan and Geoff.

“I’d like to start by apologising to you, Ryan,” he spoke as he took the seat next to Gavin, “I didn’t realise I’d hurt you that bad when I hit you into the wall.”  
“That was you?” Ryan furrowed his brows and Jeremy nodded sadly.  
“Yeah, I just didn’t want Gavin saying anything else before we could properly talk to you,” he explained but Geoff was becoming impatient.  
“Well, start talking. We want an explanation of everything,” he demanded, and Jeremy obliged.

“It started five years ago, with that gang we made up. It began as a game but, over the years it grew into a lot more. You got out early when you became friends with Geoff and abandoned us,” Jeremy said, “but now everything’s gone to shit. One of the members betrayed us and we’re in trouble with an actual gang.”  
“Why do they want me dead?” Ryan pressed, placing his mug on the coffee table as his stomach ached with nerves.

“We’ve been doing some research into it, actually. You see, we got a sent a threat letter and it listed each person that they wanted dead. After some looking about, we figured out that it’s personal for some on the list, but others are for more of a leverage thing. Like a hostage situation,” Jeremy explained, and Ryan and Geoff glanced to each other.  
“So, what do we do?” Geoff asked cautiously, and Gavin finally spoke up.

“We have to right our wrongs. Find out why each person is wanted and change it. Or else,” he whispered, and Jeremy’s hand rested on his back as a sign of reassurance.  
“I can…kind of understand this. What I’m not understanding is what happened outside of the bathroom,” Ryan said, and Geoff agreed.  
“I’m sorry about that. It’s just…I’ve not had much sleep since being threatened with death, y’know,” Gavin mumbled, and Ryan shut his mouth, mentally cursing himself. Of course, Gavin wouldn’t have taken drugs, would he?

Shaking the thought from his head, Ryan straightened his back and cleared his throat, turning his attention back to Jeremy.  
“Mind if we see the letter? Might as well since we’re in this too,” he noted. And with a nod, Jeremy left to get the letter. 

He returned soon enough and handed a folder to Ryan, the brunette raising a brow as this was not what he was expecting from a ‘letter’. Opening the folder there was indeed a letter inside and a quick scan of its words highlights all the points Jeremy had mentioned. As Ryan turned the pages, profiles of each of his past friends were meticulously presented. 

However, he assumed he was hogging it too much as Geoff’s hands shot out and tried to tug it towards himself. The small tug of war jostled the folder enough to allow a folded slip of paper float to the ground and holt any movements. 

Ryan handed the folder to Geoff and reached for the note, opening it slowly and widening his eyes as he read over it.  
“What is it?” Gavin asked worriedly, looking to Jeremy rather annoyed that he’d missed something.  
“It’s…it’s a list of demands.”


	4. No Way Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait, I've had quite a lot of trouble trying to put this together. But it's finally here. Let's hope I don't get writer's block for the next chapter as well

There was a number on the paper. And the simple instruction to call it.   
Ryan had expected an argument to spark, about who should call or if they should call it at all. But instead he got not protest as he slipped his phone out of his pocket and carefully typed in the number.

It rang three time before it was picked up, Ryan having put the phone on speaker.  
“I assume you’re Gavin,” the voice asked, and the boys shared a look as if debating whether to let Gavin speak.  
“Uh, no. I’m Ryan,” he introduced himself, the hairs on the back of his neck standing at the thought of this man knowing exact who he was from just that.  
“Fair enough. Just as long as one of you knows what’s happening,” he continued, a very noticeable southern twang to his voice. “But before I begin, how many of you is there? and which ones are you?”  
“There’s four. Gavin, Jeremy, Geoff and myself. We don’t intend to involve anyone else s don’t ask us to,”  
“Ooh, listen to you thinking you’re in charge,” a harsh laugh came from the phone and Gavin’s fingers messily tangled into Ryan’s. Whether it was to comfort Ryan or Gavin, neither of them knew but it was nice all the same.

“Look, we called the number, like the paper says. Now tell us what to do,”   
“Very well. So, like the paper says, the first…challenge is a drug shipment. You go to location A, get the drugs, and take them to location B. Easy, right?” Ryan gave a simple confirmation. “Great. I’ll text you the locations. Oh, and I suggest you do it at night and with only two of you.”  
Before Ryan could say anything else, the call was ended, and he stared at the blank screen with a sigh.  
“A fucking drug shipment. yeah, easy,” Gavin quipped, and Jeremy shot him a look.  
“It’ll be fine, Gav. I’m guessing Ryan will want to go and I’ll go with him,” he said, and, after a small discussion, the plan was set.

\---------

The gravel of the trailer park crunched under Ryan’s feet, his hands shoved into his pockets and his jacket pulled tightly around his body. He hadn’t expected for it to be so cold. There seemed to be no one else out at this time, probably because it was 1am. The trailer was exactly how Jeremy had described it. Rather worn down from weather, some wobbly steps out front, a faded pink flamingo stuck in the ground to add ‘style’. And the fact that it was half orange, half purple was the biggest clue that he was in the right place. 

Ryan waited for a moment before a light flicked on and then the door creaked open. He hoped that Jeremy would invite him inside for a second of warmth, but the light was then turned off and Jeremy hopped on to the gravel.  
“Hey, you all set to go?” he questioned, rubbing his hands together and tugging the beanie further down on his head. Ryan gave a simply nod and Jeremy lead the way to the pick-up truck.

The paint on it was just as weathered as the trailer but the truck was a lovely royal blue. Ryan even considered thinking about a similar car for himself but was brought out of his dream state as Jeremy clambered in and opened the passenger door.   
The engine roared into life and seat-belts clicked, the two staying pretty much silent as Jeremy eased the car from behind the trailer and out of the trailer park. They already knew the location. Once Ryan had received the text he’d sent it straight to Jeremy, to which Jeremy had replied with a route from his place to point A, to point B, then back to his. 

When they pulled up outside the first location, both seemed to pause for a moment, Ryan even blinking a few times, to wonder if this was real. They’d ended up outside an old Chinese restaurant, one that had closed years ago. All they could do was give each other a look before Jeremy backed into the side alley and turned off the engine.   
They jumped out the car and found the door with the help of Ryan’s phone torch, Jeremy reaching for the door handle. Locked, obviously.   
Ryan pulled up his texts and scanned through the information given, lifting his eyes to squint through the darkness to locate a power box. 

“In here,” he mumbled, pushing his phone into his pocket as he scraped his fingers along the chilled metal to wrench open the latch. It opened with ease and inside was not the electrical nonsense one would usually hold but instead a small key.   
Ryan grabbed it, shut the box, and unlocked the door. They again shared a look but stepped inside. 

It was not what they expected.  
Although, what they were expecting was rather ridiculous. A large warehouse filled with crates of various substances or weapons, anything that could be smuggled and dealt. But no. They had stepped into the back kitchen of the restaurant, or at least the skeleton of it.

There were no appliances, just metal tables and counters. Amid all the darkness sat a box. With how out of place it was, it was clear it was the one they were to take. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be more of a crate than a box, harder to open and steal from Ryan guessed.   
The two of them carefully lifted it together, finding it surprisingly lighter than they imagined. They manoeuvred it through the room and out the door, placing it on to the back of the pick-up truck. Jeremy jumped up and pushed it as far back as it would go before tugging a tarp over it and securing it down.  
“Because that’s not suspicious at all,” Ryan commented, and Jeremy rolled his eyes.  
“The forecast said it might rain. I didn’t want some druggie getting pissed about wet…whatever the hell is in there,” he retaliated, jumping down from the back of the truck and closing it.

Ryan joined Jeremy in the front of the car as they began their journey to the next destination, the silence flooding the air again. However, it wasn’t long before it was broken. He’d expected a conversation. A deep one. That was what movies showed in these sorts of situations. But instead, Jeremy had cleared his throat and asked a simple question.  
“Do you mind if I put some music on? I don’t think the radio works, but my dad keeps old CDs in the glove compartment,” he said, finger pointing to said compartment as he glanced at Ryan.   
“Uh, sure,” was Ryan’s reply, hands opening the drawer and using his phone to read off the artists. “ACDC, Foo Fighters, KISS…Nickel Back?”  
A chuckle came from Jeremy then. “Oh, that’s mine. Mind if we put that on?”   
Ryan opened the case and took the disk out, pushing it into the slot and letting a gentle smile lift to his lips as Jeremy adjusted the volume and the quiet sounds drifted through the air.

“Didn’t know you were a Nickel Back fan,” he commented, causing Jeremy to glance over before returning his gaze to the road.  
“Oh, yeah. My dad is a rock guy, so I would just listen to anything he did. Heard these once and kind of fell in love. It’s embarrassing,”  
“No, not embarrassing. A guilty pleasure for you, maybe. But I bet you’re only embarrassed about telling me about it. If it was anyone else, it would be different.” Ryan spoke, arms crossed over his chest and eyes trained on the window as he watched tiny droplets land on the glass.  
“Well, Ryan, do you have any guilty pleasures you’d like to indulge?” Jeremy teased.  
“I mean, I might as well, considering I feel like we’ll be working together for a while. One of my favourite musical artists is Taylor Swift. I’ve even seen her live once,” Ryan said, a grin slipping on to his face.  
“No fucking way. Cool guy Ryan Haywood is a Swift fan. This day is just getting crazier,” Jeremy laughed, and Ryan couldn’t help but laugh along.

The easy small talk made their journey speed up and they were soon carrying the box off the truck and towards a warehouse. Stepping inside they found it to be empty apart from one man and a table. He simply pointed to the table, a silent instruction the boys followed and placed the box on it.  
“I let your boss know that you did the job. Now scram,” the guy hissed, and the two teenagers could’ve have been any happier to leave. 

They arrived back at the trailer park in no time and Ryan pulled his phone out of his pocket as it buzzed.  
“Call?” Jeremy questioned, and Ryan shook his head.  
“Nope, just a text to say congrats and that we’ll get the next task soon,”  
“Well, let’s hold on to our asses then.”


End file.
